Spring heel adapter



July 6, 1948; J. PQWARRINGTON 2,444,865

SPRING HEEL ADAPTER Filed July 8, 1947 "a 14 E l l A /Ti INVENTOR.

Patented July 6, 1948 orf-Fics,

SPRINGTHEEL ADAPTER tlhn; P: arrington, Bellflower, Calif.

.Applicationluly 8, 1947, Serial No. 759,632

(Cl. 36e-38') y'-1 Claim.

rEhe fatigue-resulting 'romrwalkingis due in large' part to sth-ershock1 imparted to" the l"body by each step 1 taken on hard-surf aces, and tone of the objects of the -presentirlverxtion is tokprovide'a simple andinexpensivefdevice which' willbe sumciently resilient to substantially' 'eliminate .the body shocks in walking.

Another object of .th'e'invention is to provide a device of this character whichv is .evenly `balanced"by`the proper arrangementof coil springs.

Another objectof the invention is to provide means `for so' attachingthe adapter to a shoe that accidental dislodgment 'is practically' impossible, andtojprovidesimilar means for so attaching -a rubber or other heel to `the ,adapter that ,accidental' dislodgment ofthe rubber orleather heel is practically `impossible.-

A further object of the invention is to provide means in a deviceiof` this' :characterise render its operation absolutely silent.

A further object of the vinvention's to-provide a device of this character in whichv springs of diierent strength',height or .width cani-be quickly and easily substituted.

Another object of the invention-is to providea I device of thischaracter which-.canbe used with a heel of leather or rubber orany'other'v desired material, and in which a worn heel can be easily replaced with anew one.

Still yanother object of the :invention is to Drovide -a devicewoi this character 'which when `the shoes become-'worn the.adapter canbe easi-iyremoved and easily mounted on another pair of shoes.

A further object f the invention is to provide a device of this character which instead of trying to hide the springs, exposes them to the eye; and the construction being such' that the device presents a very pleasing appearance.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the adapter mounted on a shoe;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the adapter ready to be mounted on a shoe;

Figure 3 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional View taken on line 3 3 of Figure 2, but showing the adapter mounted on a shoe;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the adapter removed from a shoe, but showing a rim portion of the shoe hatched; and

Figure 5 is afraginentary sectionalview'taken online 5-'-5 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in more de-tail, nuineral l refers generally to a shoe ofanyfdesired @type for vmen or women, andthe lspringheel adapter as shown in Figure l is mounted fon the shoe. rfhe conventional shoe heel is preferably considerably reduced in height, land thecentral part of the reduced portion is cutaway, leaving rim portion 2.

The adapter, as a unit, removed Afrom the shoe, shown in Figure 2. It includes anl upper thin plate 3 and a spaced lower vthin plated; Th'ese plates are preferably vmade of stainless steel, and if not they may be chrome plated.

The upper plate along vits central -lin'e is pro-r moral f5', to lprovide v'stuiicient threads.'

Screws fi 'pass through the bottom-of the shoe and; are threaded intothe openings I5 ftoithereby f secure the adapter to "theehoe,l as shown in Fig-k ure 3. 'The heads y of 'these 'screws Aar-e ypreferalzily couritersunl;l and covered'byan vordinary innerl liner l.

Of course 'the adapter isfsecured to the Ishoe as a unit, but beforedescribing the 'completeunit'l it will be helpful to describe howV it` is secured tothe shoe. It-wil-l be notedthat'the lperipheral portion Voi the upper :plate `dis turned upwardly;l

the upturned portion, :in the lspecific embodiment f illustrated, taking the form of a plurality of tangs or tongues 6 which fit neatly about the reduced heel of the shoe and preferably extend upwardly to substantially the base of the shoe. Of course this upturned peripheral portion of the upper plate could be in the form of a continuous flange, or of any other desired form.

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, a plurality o1 screw heads 9 extend at spaced intervals around the upper plate, and are spaced inwardly of the upturned tangs 3. This construction forms what might be termed a channel or seat which is adapted to receive the lower edge of the heel rim portion `2; the width of this rim portion preferably being substantially the same as the channel or seat formed by the upturned tangs 8 and the screw heads 9, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4. Thus the shoe and adapter are so held that there can be no relative movement between them either forwardly or backwardly or sidewise. This results in an unusually rm connection, and of course it very considerably reduces strains and,

pressures on the screws 6 which hold the adapter on the shoe. And it is also to be noted that as the upturned tangs 8 are preferably of stainless steel or are chrome plated, the construction presente a Very pleasing appearance to th'e eye.

A plurality of coil springs I extend between the upper and lower plates 3 and 4. These rings may be of any desired number, seven beg shown in the present embodiment, and they I re preferably arranged in evenly spaced relaltion about the peripheral portion of the adapter in order to provide an evenly balanced device. The springs arepreferably chrome plated in order to present an attractive appearance.

The means for attaching the springs to the plates 3 and 4 will now be described. Reference has previously'been made to the screws 9, the heads of which in combination with the tangs 8 form a channel or scat for the rim portion 2 of the shoe. These screws perform a double function. Associated with the upper end of each spring, between coils, is a clip II which has thin end portions and a thickened central portion l2 having a threaded opening which is engaged by the shortscrew 9, as best shown in Figure 3. Thus the upper end of each coil spring is rmly held in position, without interfering with the resiliency of the springs. In order to insure absolute silence of the device, a, silencer I3 consisting of a sheet of rubber, leather, or other desirable material is provided on the under side of the plate 3. The springs rest on this silencer, which is preferably secured to the plate by an adhesive.

The lower ends 0f the springs I9 are attached to the lower plate 4 in exactly the same manner. Numeral I4 indicates the clips mounted in the lower coils, and these clips also have thin end portions and a thickened central portion I5 having a threaded opening to receive screws I6. And a silencer I'I, consisting of a sheet of rubber, leather, or other desired material is provided on the upper side of lower plate 4; the coil springs resting on the silencer, which is preferably secured to the plate by an adhesive.

The periphery of the lower plate is provided with a downturned ange portion, which in the specic embodiment illustrated takes the form of a plurality of tangs or tongues I8, the same as the upturned tangs 8 on the upper plate 3.

Numeral I9 refers to a heel which may be of rubber, leather, or other material, and which is positioned within the circumscribing tangs I8. It is to be noted that in the claims, the deiinition of a rubber heel is intended to also include heels of leather or of any other desired material. To fasten the heel I9 to the lower plate, the latter is provided with centrally arranged thickened portions 20 having threaded openings to receive screws 2|; the heads of these screws preferably being deeply countersunk, as shown in Figure 3. Obviously the tangs I8 assist the screws 2| in rmly holding the heel I9 in place.

The lower plate 4 and tangs I8, like the upper plate 3 and tangs 8, are preferably made of stainless steel, or are chrome plated, and in combination with the chrome plated coil springs the whole fadapter presents a very attractive appearance.

The whole adapter as a unit can be removed :from a. shoe and be replaced thereon or placed on another shoe merely by manipulating the screws 6. Likewise, the heel I9 can be removed and be replaced merely by operating the screws 2L Also, the springs being held only by screws 9 and I 6, it is a very simple matter to substitute other springs of any desired size or strength. While the embodiment illustrated is fora straight sided heel, it will be obvious that a tapered type of heel can be simulated by making the lower plate smaller than the upper plate.

What I claim is:

A spring heel adapter including two spaced plates, coil springs between the plates, means associated with the upper plate to secure the adapter to a shoe, means associated with the lower plate to secure thereto a rubber heel, a series of tangs on the upper plate and extending upwardly therefrom to embrace the shoe heel portion, and a series of tangs on the lower plate and extending downwardly therefrom to embrace the rubber heel.

JOHN P. WARRINGTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 955,700 Schoof Apr. 19, 1910 986,666 Young Mar. 14, 1911 2,104,924c Dellea Jan. 11, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 30,597 Germany Feb. 23, 1885 427,126 Great Britain Apr. 16, 1935 

